Installing the Agent software on offline Linux machines

This task requires access to an online Linux machine, removable storage media, and access to the final offline Linux machine. If AppAssure Agentis installed on the offline Linux machine, you must first uninstall it before installing Rapid Recovery Agent. For more information, see Uninstalling the AppAssure Agent software from a Linux machine.

Caution: After configuring the newly installed Agent software on a Linux machine, you must restart the machine. Restarting ensures that the proper kernel module version is used to protect your machine.

Configuring the Rapid Recovery Agent on a Linux machine

Run the Rapid Recovery Configuration utility after installing theRapid Recovery Agent software on a Linux machine.

The configuration utility compiles the kernel module (in option 4) and offers several configuration options. The utility provides hints in the numbered steps of the instructions when it detects your specific configuration information.

Complete the steps below to configure the Rapid Recovery Agent software on any Linux machine. Some configuration options differ based on the Linux distribution you are installing.

Open a terminal session with root access, or use sudo (as demonstrated in the example below).

Launch the configuration utility by typing the following command, and then press Enter:

sudo /usr/bin/rapidrecovery-config

The configuration utility starts. The utility lists several configuration options, each with an index number to enter for the appropriate configuration step.

Configure the port for this protected machine by typing the following command, and then press Enter. The default port is 8006.

1 <agent_port>

For example, if using the default port, type the command:

1 8006 Enter

Configure users available for protection, by typing the following command, and then press Enter:

2 <user_names_separated_by_comma>

For example, if using usernames michael, administrator, and test_user1, type the command:

2 michael,administrator,test_user1 Enter

Note: The root account is not allowed.

Configure firewall rules to select a firewall configuration manager. This establishes firewall exceptions for the port designated in step 3.

If the utility detects one or more firewall configuration managers (such as lokkit or firewalld), each is listed in the utility in line 3. Select the appropriate configuration manager and enter it, starting with the command number (3), and then press Enter:

3 <firewall_configuration>

For example, if using firewalld, type the command:

3 firewalld Enter

Query the list of compatible kernel modules from the utility by entering the command number, and then press Enter.

NOTE: This step is required. Without performing this step, backups will fail.

4

A sub-shell returns all kernel modules compatible for installation. For example, the following could be returned:

Searching for all available for installation kernels.
This might take a while, depending on the Internet connection speed.
Kernels compatible for module installation:
0 - linux-image-3.16.0.23-generic
1 - linux-image-3.16.0.31-generic
2 - linux-image-3.16.0.33-generic
3 - linux-image-3.16.0.34-generic
Input indices of the kernel modules you wish to install, delimited by space; use 'all' to install into all supported kernels, or 'q' to quit.

Configure the appropriate Rapid Recovery kernel module.

For example, to enter kernel modules for 3.16.0-23 and 3.16.0-34, type 1 4 and then press Enter.

To enter all kernel modules, enter all and press Enter.

After configuring the newly installed Agent software, restart the machine. Restarting ensures that the proper kernel module version is used to protect your machine.

After completing this process, the local repository has been configured on this Linux machine. The Agent software is installed and the kernel module is loaded.

Your next step is to protect the machine on the Rapid Recovery Core .

Starting and stopping the Linux Agent Daemon

After installing or upgrading the Agent software on a Linux machine, you should configure the Agent, and then restart. Restarting ensures that the Rapid Recovery Agent services start automatically, which is required to protect your Linux machine.

You can manually start, stop, and view the status of the Rapid Recovery Agent and rapidrecovery-vdisk services in all supported distributions by using the default commands as described in the following tables, respectively.

Note: To run a command with administrative privileges, begin the command with sudo. For example: To start the Rapid Recovery Agent service with administrative privileges on a SystemV system, use sudo service rapidrecovery-agent start.

Table 5: Using the Linux agent service

Action

Systemd Command

SystemV Command

Start

systemctl start rapidrecovery-agent

service rapidrecovery-agent start

Restart

systemctl restart rapidrecovery-agent

service rapidrecovery-agent restart

Stop

systemctl stop rapidrecovery-agent

service rapidrecovery-agent stop

View status

systemctl status rapidrecovery-agent

service rapidrecovery-agent status

Table 6: Using rapidrecovery-vdisk

Action

Systemd Command

SystemV Command

Start

systemctl start rapidrecovery-vdisk

service rapidrecovery-vdisk start

Restart

systemctl restart rapidrecovery-vdisk

service rapidrecovery-vdisk restart

Stop

systemctl stop rapidrecovery-vdisk

service rapidrecovery-vdisk stop

View status

systemctl status rapidrecovery-vdisk

service rapidrecovery-vdisk status

Automatically installing updates

Automatically installing updates

When installing the Rapid Recovery Core, you can choose whether to automatically update the Rapid Recovery Core software. For specific steps on selecting these options, see Installing the Rapid Recovery Core.

Caution: The automatic update feature requires users to install Rapid Recovery Core release 6.2 or later and to consent to let Quest Software Inc. use a limited amount of personal data.

If installing Rapid Recovery Core for the first time in release 6.2 or later, you must read the privacy policy described and consent to the use of personal data. If upgrading from a version of Rapid Recovery Core prior to 6.2, you must upgrade manually one time, and consent to the use of personal data. Thereafter, you can use the automatic update feature.

You can also choose to be notified when an updated version of the Core software is available, or to ignore updates. Once installation is complete, settings related to updates can be changed at any time. For more information on changing automatic update settings, see "Configuring update settings” in the Rapid Recovery 6.3 User Guide.

If you choose automatic updates, or if you choose to be notified about updates, then the software on the Rapid Recovery Core is checked against new versions of Rapid Recovery software periodically.

If you choose automatic updates, then when a new version is detected, the version on the Core is updated after other scheduled nightly jobs have completed.

If you choose to be notified about updates, then when a new version is detected, a message appears on the Core Console under the button bar indicating that a new version is available. The message includes a link to obtain the update.

Generally, Quest recommends using the automatic update option. Upgrading a source Core before upgrading its target Core could result in replication failure. For replication users, Quest recommends administrators apply automatic upgrades only to the target Core, and then manually upgrade the source Core, and lastly upgrade the Agent software on protected machines.

The default setting for automatic updates is to check for updates weekly. You can change how frequently the system checks for updates (options include daily, weekly, monthly, or never) at any time by configuring the update settings for the Core on the Settings page of the Rapid Recovery Core Console . For more information on how to change these settings, see the topic “Configuring Update Settings” in the Rapid Recovery 6.3 User Guide.

NOTE: The automatic update feature requires a license using the standard phone-home mode. If using a software license in non-phone home mode, your Core does not have permission to communicate with the Rapid Recovery License Portal and cannot update the Core or notify you of available updates. For more information, see the topic "Managing privacy" in the Rapid Recovery 6.3 User Guide.